State of the Program in 2019

Agree on #3. That was pure garbage, no doubt about it.

Otherwise, I think we've finally found ourselves a good, modernized offense. McCaffrey could be pretty good now that he'll be getting first team reps next year, and we've got a lot of young talent on that side of the ball. Charbonnet, Haskins, Jackson, Sainristil, Bell... the potential for something special next season is there.

However, we're going to need more than this gimmicky defense if we're to win anything meaningful.

We are always two steps behind them. Where this team really falls behind is in the offseason. We never look great coming out of fall camp and it seems to take us half the season to figure out what we want to do. See last year's ND game, the Utah game and Rudock's early struggles, and this year's Army and Wisconsin game. They always look quite prepared early in the season and build from there.

I would also add that Harbaugh has vanquished Dantonio....we talk about recruiting with Ohio State...but Michigan seemed to have taken the state back from Michigan State definitively 

McCaffery or Milton should be fine in this system. Got to find three new OL starters.

Totally agree on Brown. UM needs to find a younger, more flexible coach.

#1 - not hard to do when wins over Rutgers, Maryland, Indiana, 2 OOC games, MSU and 2 garbage B1G West teams should guarantee a floor of 8 wins.  Not declaring Harbaugh the messiah for going 1-3 or 2-2 vs the good teams.

#2 - Let's not forget the offense was atrocious for half the year.  Let's also not forget that poor coaching decisions and stupid wildcat play calls hold it back.

#3 - Agree totally.  Don Brown's defense is a joke

#4 - Why on earth would a top level QB go to Michigan through the transfer portal when playoff teams will gladly pay for their services?

#5 - So OSU can field a world beating offense with 9 new starters and a transfer QB.  Michigan can't field a consistent offense with most of it's players back.

All of these items point to significantly inferior coaching and even more proof that house needs to be cleaned from the top down.  Georgia did with Mark Richt, OSU did it with Cooper.  It is time as Harbaugh is taking this team nowhere.

We're on a similar level to Wisconsin and PSU, as evidenced by us trading home victories with them.  OSU is on a different level, probably due to their willingness to use shady recruiting tactics coupled with sustained success. It will take some huge unforced error by them, or getting busted by the NCAA, or name and image rights being restored for us to ever pull even.

With Michigan's resources a coach worth having would have built a team that can compete with the top echelon of college football . I thought Jim was a great hire. ..... I was wrong.

Hinton and Smith weren't ready, so put your best players on the field - 4 DE's.  The result was all day to throw for Fields.  Coverage downfield was okay, but that can only last for so long.  Brown did a great job with the defense all year, but (again) didn't have the horses to close the deal.  Coverage bounced between man and different zones, and the busts were clear when big plays happened.  A lot of bandaids made it look good against all but the very best competition.  Its not a coaching problem, its a personnel problem.  Recruiting needs to get WAY better on the defensive side - especially DT and CB.  So long as those two positions are weak, they will require bandaids.  And this is what happens to bandaids.

Its very unfortunate that the offensive kept shooting itself in the foot.

It's probably a good thing I dont get paid for this, because I got no idea how to catch OSU. It's clear that their far deeper and far more talented, but I don't really know how they got to be that way. I strongly suspect there's a little too much "extra" going on in the recruiting game. But one, I can't prove it (although Chase Young basically showed it for all of us), and two, I don't know what to do about it. I doubt the current administration would be ok with getting dirtier. Best hope is for some sort of game changer from the NCAA. 

This isn’t the same Jim who coached in a super bowl. It’s been speculated on this forum that he likely has a touch of autism, and now it appears his health issues have gotten worse. I’m sure I’m not the only one who’s noticed he’s wearing diabetes glasses? It’s possible he doesn’t know they’re diabetes glasses, and just like the look of them, but I fear the worst. I hope Jim takes care of himself and gets back to the sort of football rain man that terrorized USC. 

Agree with your 1-3 points, but 4 and 5 are a stretch. 
 

Donny needs to go. I was On the bandwagon to save his job before this game. He is very much like Hoke. Way over his head at This level. 
 

On pt 4: I am actually not that excited about McCaffrey, but really hope to see Milton. His arm, power, speed could be a deadly combination with this offense. McCaffrey may turn out great, but something just feels like he is going to be Patterson-esque. I think a transfer portal solution is short sighted OSU was guaranteed to suck with Tate Martell, so it made sense. 
 

on pt 5: I hate to be that guy, but it’s too easy to just talk about recruiting/transferring better players without actually acknowledging the elephant in the room: pay for play. Chase Young was OBVIOUSLY paid per his silly suspension. He was the only one caught. Until all teams are either paying or being punished for playing, we will never find ourselves on equal playing field with OSU recruiting. 

#6 you're a gimp

As to #3, he’s given up over 1000 yards in the last two years alone 

The state of the program is that of a 2nd tier program nationally. Somewhere between 10 and 20. That seems to be the ceiling with Harbaugh. Is it enough? Well 8-10 wins isn't the worst we can do. It might be the best we can do without a legit re-orientation in terms of doing whatever it takes to win.

8-10 wins. Also a success of the 80s and 90s. Not good enough.

Offense really worries me if Ruiz, DPJ, and Collins go pro.  If they do we will return 3 starters. 

Offense really worries me if Ruiz, DPJ, and Collins go pro.  If they do we will return 3 starters. 

But Sabans D just got lit up again for 40+, I guess they should fire him to.  It happens. Great O gonna put up points. M just simply doesn’t have to horses. And it’s been that way for some time. It’s a harsh reality 

Michigan is in a better spot right now than than several historical blue bloods like Texas, USC, Florida State, Miami, Nebraska, and Tennessee. We're on equal footing with PSU, Wisconsin and Notre Dame. We've taken ownership of the MSU rivalry again after getting owned for nearly a decade. We're back to averaging 9-10 wins per year like we did for 40 years prior to Rich Rod and Hoke. The only deficiency is the toughest to swallow - completely getting dominated by OSU (which isn't new, has been going on since the death of Bo, but is something we thought Harbaugh would remedy). The real question is: would Michigan slide back to real mediocrity if Harbaugh is fired or leaves? Not beating OSU hurts, but it was much, much worse and will not slide to those depths under Harbaugh.